STORY AND PHOTOS BY TOM CLAYCOMB

Although I often shoot and write about airguns, you may have noticed that my testing has focused on a few different SIG Sauer models recently. That’s because I believe SIG is on to something, making airguns modeled after their “real” guns, including the use of comparable controls and full-blowback metal slides on the handguns.

A close-up of the SIG Sauer 1911 in .45

Not long ago, everyone suggested practicing with a .22, what with the caliber’s light recoil and lower ammo cost. That may have been sound advice, but with the astronomical jump in the price of .22 ammo, it is no longer that much of a savings, even if loads are available. I don’t know whether SIG’s plans were prompted by the higher prices or it was just lucky timing, but I’m glad they did what they did.

It is easier to practice your drawing techniques using a gun that is nearly identical to your real weapon, for example, and it’s much more fun than dry ﬁring your real pistol. And, if you live in a suburban setting, an air gun is much quieter and there are no powerful ﬂying projectiles.

A close-up of SIG Sauer’s Max Michel BB pistol.

IN THE JULY ISSUE of this magazine, I wrote a review covering the SIG Sauer 226 airgun, and the following month did a feature on their MCX AR airgun. Since each of these is a near copy of a full-caliber gun in the SIG Sauer line, it gave me an idea. For this third and ﬁnal SIG airgun piece, I decided to do a combination review of the airgun and the pistol it was designed to mimic. And, since SIG’s 1911 Max Michel BB pistol is set to hit the market later this month, this will probably be one of the ﬁrst published reviews of it.

As with the ﬁrst two SIG airguns I tested, I was impressed by how closely these two resembled each other. In fact, if you lay them on top of each other, they are basically the same size. There are just a few small, understandable differences.

First, the sights on the air gun are not as nice on the actual .45, which makes perfect sense. Second, the airgun has a Picatinny rail, while the .45 doesn’t. Third, there is a slight difference in the butt due to the differences in the clips. And ﬁnally, although they each appear to have ambidextrous safeties, the “left-handed” safety on the airgun is nonfunctional.

I mentioned that the airgun sights are not as good as on the .45, but I should add that they are adjustable for windage and elevation with a ﬂat-head screwdriver.

This is the best group that I got, but I’m sure you can do better.

To really make this a family affair, I did some of the testing of the .45 alongside my wife, Katy. I shot my normal mediocre groups, but she obtained some good groups.

Normally, I recommend a .357 Mag for smaller shooters. That way, in town they can load up with .38s, and in the mountains they can shoot .357 magnums for bears, wolves and cougars. But although Katy is somewhat recoil-sensitive, she loved shooting the .45. Needless to say, our pace of ﬁre was nowhere as intense as that of the handgun’s namesake, Max Michel, the captain of SIG Sauer’s shooting team and recently crowned world-speed shooting champion.

It is rare, but occasionally I hear someone dissing a 1911. How can you do that to one of the most popular pistol models for more than 100 years running? My dad, who was a B24 pilot in World War II, carried one, and I’ll bet your dad or grandfather did too at some point. If you can handle the recoil and obtain adequate reset times, the .45 is the ticket. And if my wife and my 110-pound daughters like shooting a 1911, then I think that it is safe to say that you can probably handle the SIG Sauer .45.

I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED shooting both guns. For our test we used SIG 230-grain FMJ ammo for the .45, and with the airgun we used SIG BBs. Airgun ammo can vary wildly in accuracy, but in all of my tests, SIG pellets and BBs grouped as good as any of the leading manufacturers other than JSB, which are match-grade pellets.

Like many of SIG’s airguns, the 1911 version has a detachable 16-shot clip that is released by pushing a button identical to the one on its larger and more powerful cousin. You pull down a slide knob and load the BBs into a hole. Then slide the clip back into the bottom of the grip. To load the 12gram CO2 cylinder, you remove the clip and pull out the back of the grip. Insert the gas cartridge and close the handle, and that snaps it into place. Slap in the clip and you’re good to go.

The airgun is not only great for training purposes, but also fun for shooting small varmints. It is a semiautomatic, so it would also be a great tool to run deer and other pests out of your garden. It would sting them enough to make them leave but not cause any long-lasting damage.

Carrying the name of the company’s shooting team captain and 2016 world speed-shooting champion, these two fine SIG Sauer Max Michel handguns make an excellent pair. The .45 is on the left, and the BB pistol is on the right.

As with all SIG semiautos I have tested, the .45 is a great pistol. And once again, I think that in developing the airgun to go along with it, SIG has come up with a great training tool.

So there you have it – several really good reasons to buy two guns instead of just one. Tell your spouse that I said so, and let me know how that goes! ASJ